1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of processing, via a telephone net, bets and games of chance which include the placing of bets and requests for winnings, utilizing a computer system communicating with the telephone net and provided with a data base as well as with listening and speaking terminals.
Furthermore, the invention relates to a computer system for processing, via a telephone net, bets and games of chance which include the placing of bets and requests for winnings, comprising:
a data base,
call distribution means (ACD) connected to the telephone net for receiving incoming calls and for distributing them to a plurality of processing queues (Q1-QK), and
a number M of listening and speaking terminals (P1-PM) connected to M first processing queues (Q).
Moreover, the invention relates to a program for controlling a computer system communicating with a telephone net and connected to a data base as well as listening and speaking terminals.
Such systems are known as computer-assisted call centers. Incoming calls are distributed by the computer system to employees working at work stations equipped with listening and speaking terminals. The computer system may present to a caller voice selection menus which the caller acknowledges or controls by touch tone inputs (MFV) in order to reach a certain employee.
The operation of such call centers is particularly uneconomical when used in connection with bets and games of chance: Shortly before the bets or games of chance are closed, there usually occurs an explosion-like increase in the number of incoming calls so that a correspondingly proportional number of working stations for employees and an equal number of employees would have to be provided. However, between bets or games of chance a large number of working stations would be idle during substantial increments of time.
2. The Prior Art
For that reason, systems have previously been proposed for processing incoming calls completely automatically. U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,416 describes a computerized system for receiving lottery bets via a telephone net, with a speech menu system which is controlled completely, up to the push button inputs (MFV) of credit card numbers and voice responses to the caller, by the caller using push button inputs (MFV). However, this system is only suitable for placing bets and is incapable of processing winning requests. Initial enrollment as a new customer requires registration with an employee at a listening and speaking terminal.
It is this user interface which constitutes a critical point in the acceptance of such an automated service. A large number of potential users considers an interaction with the system by way of push button inputs tiresome and prone to input errors, so that it avoids such services.
On the other hand, voice controlled menu systems for telephone systems are known which utilize automatic speech recognition methods enabling an input from the caller of natural voice commands and data.
In applications of betting and games of chance which include requests for winnings the problem arises that for purposes of possible winning requests the addresses of all callers have heretofore been stored. However, given the state of development of currently available speaker-independent speech recognition methods, speech recognition of a substantially unlimited worldwide set of addresses cannot be accomplished within a realistic calculation time. Only for a limited geographical area of potential customers, for example, addresses from an area of about 100,000 inhabitants, would it be possible to realize speech recognition. However, in the case of a geographical area of customers from all of Germany, the system would have to be capable of recognizing about 80 million addresses.
Since the target group of telephone supported automatic betting and game of chance systems is basically directed to potential new customers in an unlimited geographical area, a problem arises which cannot at present be solved. On the one hand, it is uneconomical, because of the irregularity of peak demands, to increase the number of workstations for customer registrations by employees; on the other hand, currently available speech recognition technology is incapable of mastering this task.
It as an object of the invention to provide a computer system and a program for this purpose which is capable of providing, at a reasonable economic investment, a substantially automated system for processing the placing of bets and requests for winnings in wagerings and games of chance.
In a first aspect of the invention, the object is accomplished by a method which is characterized by the steps of:
a) making available in a data base a first limited set of predetermined speech component patterns forming possible spoken bet placements;
b) receiving an incoming call by the computer system;
c) automatically evaluating the caller identification of the caller including preceding or succeeding
d) recognition of the caller""s selection between placing a bet, on the one hand, or requesting a winning on the other hand, and, independently of the recognition, selecting
d1) converting one of more bet placements by the caller with the aid of a speech recognition method which performs a comparison against the first set of speech component patterns, to a machine processable set of data and storing the set of data together with the caller identification in the data base; or
d2) conveying the call to a listening and speaking terminal in case of a request for a winning.
In the present specification the term xe2x80x9cbet placementxe2x80x9d connotes every kind of participation in wagering, book making, games of chance, lottery or the like whether it be betting, wagering, playing or placing a stake, etc. The term xe2x80x9cbet placementxe2x80x9d includes all possible variants of participation.
In a second aspect of the invention the object is accomplished with a computer system of the kind referred to supra which is characterized by:
means (ASR1-ASRN) for evaluating the caller identification of a caller;
a number N of speech recognition modules (ASR1-ASRN) connected to N second processing queues (Q) for converting each spoken bet placement of the caller into a machine processessable set of data and storing it, together with the caller identification, in the data base;
a selective evaluation device (ASRi, S) connected to the call distribution means (ACD) for controlling, dependent upon the input selection by the caller, the call distribution means (ACD) to direct the call to one of the speech recognition modules (ASR) in case a bet placement has been selected, or to a listening and speaking terminal (P) in case a request for a winning has been selected.
The invention proposed an entirely novel approach for automatically processing bets and games of chance over the telephone net: The invention is based upon the surprising recognition of the basic need for distinguishing between game participation over the telephone for placing a bet or to request a winning, and the realization that in the former case speech recognition of the address of a caller is not necessary at all. In this manner, currently available speech recognition technology may be fully utilized, and the number of work-intensive work stations provided with listening and speaking terminals may be reduced by the factor (M+N):M.
An especially preferred embodiment of the method in accordance with the invention is characterized by the fact that in step c) a new caller identification is generated and voice-issued in case a caller identification can either not be evaluated or not be found. In this fashion, new customer may immediately participate in a game and make use of the complete utility of the system.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention the automatic evaluation of the caller identification may proceed on the basis of the caller""s telephone number as transmitted by a public telephone net. If the caller identification is not transmitted by the telephone net or if a permanent association of game participants with defined telephone connections is not desirable, automatic evaluation of the caller identification may be performed by a speech recognition method which performs a comparison with a second limited set of predetermined speech component patterns forming possible spoken caller identities. The caller identification is in any case independent of an address and can, therefore, be evaluated by currently available speech recognition methods.
Preferably, for purposes of increasing security, the caller identification includes an account number and a password.
A further advantageous embodiment of the invention is characterized by the steps of making available a third limited set of predetermined speech component patterns forming possible spoken credit card charge, bank account deduction transactions or the like, and
converting a spoken credit card charge, bank account deduction transaction or the like of the caller""s by means of a speech recognition method which executes a comparison with the third set of speech component patterns, into a machine-processable set of transactions which is stored with the caller identification in a data base. In this manner, crediting and identifying a caller may be automatically performed at the same time so that for the time being an anonymous betting account may be set up for the caller.
Crediting the betting account may also take place by debiting a bank account, payment through a telephone or electricity bill, automatic bank payment, electronic species, customer cards, value cards, vouchers etc. In the present specification the terms xe2x80x9ccredit card, bank account or the likexe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9ccredit card issuer, bank, or the likexe2x80x9d include all these variants.
To increase security for the operator, the sets of transactions in the data base are preferably examined for credit worthiness by way of a credit card and bank account verification terminals or the like.
There are two preferred variants for recognizing the caller""s selection in step d). On the one hand, the selection may take place by a telephone dialing number determined by the telephone net and which presents itself to the caller in the manner of an extension, so that the caller may make his basic selection between placing a bet and requesting a winning as soon as he places a call to the system. On the other hand, the selection in step d) may take place by voice command and speech recognition, so that the system presents itself to the outside by a telephone number followed by voice control.
Other objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.